Gobal smartphone market sales fell 3.2 percent last year, with Apple grabbing the top spot and three Chinese brands, including a first for Transsion, ranking among the top five, International Data Corp, or IDC, said on Tuesday.

According to the researcher, global smartphone sales declined 3.2 percent year on year to 1.17 billion units in 2023. But global sales in the fourth quarter last year saw a 8.5 percent growth, as "momentum is moving quickly toward recovery."

The top five smartphone brands in 2023, according to IDC's report released on Tuesday.

Apple surpassed Samsung for the top ranking in 2023 with a market share of 20.1 percent, followed by the South Korean giant and the trio of Chinese firms Xiaomi, OPPO and Transsion.

"While we saw some strong growth from low-end Android players like Transsion and Xiaomi in the second half of 2023, stemming from rapid growth in emerging markets, the biggest winner is clearly Apple," said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC.

But Apple is still facing increased regulatory challenges and renewed competition from Huawei in China. Huawei is back and making inroads quickly. Meanwhile, brands like OnePlus, Honor and Google are launching very competitive devices in the lower price range of the high end. And foldables and increased discussions around artificial intelligence capabilities on the smartphone are gaining traction, IDC added.

It's worth mentioning that it's the first time for Transsion to be listed in the top five globally, with a 30.8 percent expansion in 2023, the fastest growing brand among the top five.

Shenzhen-based Transsion is often known as the "King of Africa," offering competitive products in the emerging markets of that continent.

Models pose with smartphones from Transsion, which was listed among the top five brands globally for the first time.